My 7 Most Important Business Lessons (part 1 of 2)
By Michele Schermerhorn
Millions of people start new small businesses in the United States every day. Many fail. What causes one business owner to succeed where another fails?
For a successful small business, there are seven key areas to focus your efforts on. It starts with knowing oneself and ends with not being afraid to ask for help.
1. Know Yourself
Having your own business is more than just creating a job for yourself. To be a successful small business owner, there are many personal sacrifices you will be required to make. You have to be willing to make them. By knowing yourself and what is truly important to you, you will be able to make these choices far easier than if you have never considered your priorities.
Your basic roles in a small business are in marketing, planning, finance, and administration. To get the best results, it is rare for one person to play all these roles equally well. You must know which parts you can handle yourself and which parts you’re going to need help with. That’s why it’s so important to be objective and take a close look at your overall strengths and weaknesses. Ask yourself the following questions:
- Do you plan before you take action?
- Are you willing to hustle for the sale?
- How financially savvy are you?
- Do you have a well thought out plan? And, do you work the plan?
- Do you know how to make sales happen? Can you ask for the sale?
In those areas where you assess yourself as weak, you can ask for help.
2. Ask for Help When You Need It
When you’re young and unseasoned, you tend to think you can do anything. This is a recipe for disaster for the small businessperson. If you insist on doing everything yourself, you will work 16 hours a day and not do some things well.
Remember, getting results is what counts! With outside advice and assistance, your quest for a successful business can be accomplished faster and with far fewer bruises than doing it yourself. When I started my first online business, I even created my own website. In retrospect, this was a big mistake. It took me far longer to create my site than having a more experienced person do it. Start equating every second of your time with money. Your time isn’t free. While you are trying to do everything, what’s falling through the cracks?
Don’t be too proud to ask for help; we all need help sometimes. With the Internet, the small business owner has a wealth of experience available to them. Why not take advantage of the many resources, paid and otherwise, available to you? Join a small business forum, like the Small Business Forum, where you can exchange knowledge with other small business owners. Access the millions of online articles on every business subject you can think of online.
Qualified sources are also available from your local government offices and other professional services. It is important to recognize that what you don’t know can end up costing you money and greatly reduce the chance of achieving your business goals.
With all that knowledge, you need a plan of action.
3. Action Planning
I like to call it “action planning” rather than “planning.” Action is the only element which turns a plan into reality. Many people are great at planning, but they suffer when it comes to follow-through. Successful small business owners are action oriented. But that action starts with a plan.
According to leading authorities, the main reason 80% of all new businesses fail within the first five years is not money, but the lack of planning. If you want to succeed, the trick is to know how to make the right decisions by implementing an effective business plan. Remember, if you fail to plan, you might as well plan to fail.
A business plan should include how you will finance the business, who will perform certain critical business functions, the license and permits required, accounting method, as well as what you know about your prospects and customers.
Michele Schermerhorn calls herself a “Corporate Freedom Fighter” dedicated to freeing cubicle prisoners to experience their own successful online business. She has over 30 years experience in the business world and over 12 years running her own successful online businesses. She is president of Online Business Institute Inc., authors a sassy marketing blog, and regularly conducts free online seminars.
